Maria Michaels Designs

Maria Michaels Designs

January-February Newsletter

First, an important note regarding the links on these pages. Clicking on them will open new, separate windows. Be sure to close each one before clicking on the next. Too many open windows can cause your computer to slow down and some older computer systems to crash.

Our News
We are very excited and pleased to have made an appearance in two current publications.

The Canadian Quilter (the current Winter 2003 issue) includes our Canadian Flag pattern.

	It is a pleasure to present this lovely version of our flag wall hanging which was beautifully pieced, quilted, and photographed by Edna Summers of Texas.

The Professional Quilter (the current Winter 2004 issue) includes the first half of my two-part article on the popularity of quilt newsletters. Part one features interviews with Ami Simms, Bethany Reynolds, and Judy Martin. Part two will include interviews with four more quilters and the results of the survey so many of you participated in last year along with members of the sewing list for which I am "List Mom" - the Bernina ThirtySomethings. More on that survey and your part in it when the spring issue appears.

Our New Pattern
In response to several requests for it, a paper-pieced version of our Prisms block is now available.

Prisms Block Two of the Many Possible Settings for the Block

Custom Cross Stitch Graphs

We are pleased and delighted to have received this lovely photo of an exquisitely made cross stitch project made by Anne Oliver who has truly created a masterpiece!

A black and white wedding photo was sent in last spring with a request to crop it, change it to sepia tones, and create a graph for it. I did, and this wonderful cross stitch picture is the result. It was given to the couple pictured as a 50th anniversary gift and I am told that they "absolutely love it."

Book Review
	Quilting Masterclass - by Katharine Guerrier This is a book to inspire us all. 50 quilts by some of the best quilt artists have been photographed in full colour and included in its pages. Among others you will see the works of Caryl Bryer Fallert, Ginny Eckley, Bonnie Lyn McCaffery, Paula Nadelstern, and Roberta Horton. It is not a how-to book per se, but it does explain how these gifted quilters achieve their special effects, their ideas on design, colour, and technique, and their tips for creating original quilts. You will find it very difficult to pick just one as a favourite. Sandie Lush's Slip One, Knit One is a whole cloth quilt that looks exactly like a knitted sweater. It must be seen to be believed. Hiromitsu Takano's Kenka is a beautiful
stained glass patchwork quilt featuring cherry blossoms. Judy B. Dales' Not A Calico Chicken not only has an interesting name, but is a lovely, pleasing, abstract design. Paula Nadelstern's Kaleidoscope quilts always amaze me. Gabrielle Swan's Even Change (part of which is shown on the cover) is a lovely leaf design, her fourth in a series.
	Stripples Strikes Again! - by Donna Lynn Thomas Donna explains bias strip piecing and how to use the bias stripper ruler which makes cutting bias strips easy. The book includes instructions for 14 quilts. Pictures and diagrams are in black and white, but there are colour photos of each quilt. Although this book is now out of print, it is still current because of its rotary cutting techniques. You should be able to find it at your library, which is where I borrowed this one. It can also be found at used book sites such as Amazon. *Remember to support your local libraries and quilt shops.
Featured Quilter My apologies. Due to circumstances beyond control, it was not possible to complete this interview on time. Rather than delay the newsletter, it is being sent as is. This feature will be added as soon as possible. You will receive a message notifying you of the addition so that you can view and read it then.

Quilt Tools

	Wonder Tape Wonder tape is a very handy product both for sewing and quilting. It is a double-sided transparent tape which can be used to stabilize fabric wherever hand basting is needed. It dissolves with the first washing and does not gum up sewing machine needles. This photo is of my opened package which is why the background is not complete. I find it very handy for turning under 1/4 inch seams when sewing garments, very useful for appliqué work, and indispensable when folding back the binding of a quilt. Use it instead of clips or pins. I am sure that you will find many more uses for it. Because it is a tape, it does not need to be pressed with an iron the way fusibles do. Look for it at your favourite quilt shop or online store.
Pattern Winners! Starting with this month's newsletter, winners of our Maria Michaels Designs patterns will receive them via an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. This means that once the winners have contacted me, their pattern will be emailed within 24 hours and can be printed immediately. Different arrangements will be made for winners using Web TV addresses since they are unable to open PDF files. In order to open the PDF files, winners will need the free download of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Clicking on the link will take you to the Adobe download site. Special thanks to Edna Summers who has donated her Edna's Iron Slipper Pattern for our January draw. If you would like to order Edna's pattern, or an already made Iron Slipper, or read more about it, click on the link above.

Wonder Tape

Wonder tape is a very handy product both for sewing and quilting. It is a double-sided transparent tape which can be used to stabilize fabric wherever hand basting is needed. It dissolves with the first washing and does not gum up sewing machine needles.

This photo is of my opened package which is why the background is not complete. I find it very handy for turning under 1/4 inch seams when sewing garments, very useful for appliqué work, and indispensable when folding back the binding of a quilt. Use it instead of clips or pins. I am sure that you will find many more uses for it. Because it is a tape, it does not need to be pressed with an iron the way fusibles do.

Look for it at your favourite quilt shop or online store.

Pattern Winners!

Starting with this month's newsletter, winners of our Maria Michaels Designs patterns will receive them via an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. This means that once the winners have contacted me, their pattern will be emailed within 24 hours and can be printed immediately. Different arrangements will be made for winners using Web TV addresses since they are unable to open PDF files.

In order to open the PDF files, winners will need the free download of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Clicking on the link will take you to the Adobe download site.

Special thanks to Edna Summers who has donated her Edna's Iron Slipper Pattern for our January draw. If you would like to order Edna's pattern, or an already made Iron Slipper, or read more about it, click on the link above.

January's winner is oloczko@............. Congratulations! You have won Edna's Iron Slipper Pattern which is pictured above. To claim your pattern, send me an email and include your name and address, please.

March's winner is gran5752632@............... Congratulations! You have won our newest Prisms pattern. To claim your pattern, send me an email and include your name.

Please note: Winners have until publication of March's newsletter to claim their free patterns.

Questions and Answers
Q: Hi! I have been searching for a quilt/appliqué pattern titled "Little Indian Boy." Do you know of this pattern and/or where I could get a copy? Thank you. E.H.

A: I asked a number of quilt designers if they knew of the pattern. One had - Cindy Sisler Simms - a quilt teacher, designer and quilt maker who remembers her grandmother drawing this pattern. With your permission, I will pass your email address on to her and she will contact you about it.

Do you have questions you would like answered in our newsletter? If so, email them to Maria.

Quilting Sites

This site from Holland offers a free quilt pattern filled with delightful chickens.

When you click on the link, you will find a page of directions written in English. At the top of the page there are buttons with every month of the year, also written in English. Click on these to print your patterns which are available via PDF files. You will need the free download of Adobe Acrobat Reader to access these files. If you have EQ (Electric Quilt) software, the patterns can be opened and saved in it.

Be sure to visit the site for a much larger, better picture of the quilt.

Newsletter Archives
A complete archive of previous newsletters is being prepared. Here is a partial list for our newest subscribers.

December 2003
November 2003
September 2003

Survey Question
Would you prefer that the newsletter be divided into two, separate pages for faster download times or left as one?
To reply, email me and type "one" for one page, or "two" for two pages in either the subject or body of the message. Additional comments are welcome.

Quilt Newsletters
Kaye Wood is known to most of you. She is an internationally known quilter with the longest TV show on PBS. Visit her site by clicking on the link To sign up for her free, weekly E-Newsletter, send an email . It includes tips and techniques, questions and answers, special sales and promotions, sewing Ebooks, Epatterns, and free projects! It is available in html or text format. Learn from the best!

Computer Tip
Do computer terms confuse you? Here is a site which provides definitions - Webopedia.

Educational Game Site
Toy Theatre is a site which includes educational games, regular games, puzzles, and interactive activities for children and teens. Many of us adults will have fun with it too, especially paired with a child, niece/nephew, or grandchild.

Some of the topics and activities are:
Art - where you can play with the sculpture machine, paint, doodle..........
Math - where you can use flash cards, count the Woozies, get a taste of algebra, feed Freddy.........
Reading - where you can read stories, do crosswords, read monster jokes and poetry, learn the alphabet........
Music - where you can play the drums or the piano, learn about composers...........
.................and much more!

Humour - Some Units of Measure

1. Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter? = Eskimo Pi

2. 2000 pounds of Chinese soup? = Won ton

3. 1 millionth of a mouthwash? = 1 microscope

4. Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement? = 1 bananosecond

5. Weight a TV evangelist carries with God? = 1 billigram

6. Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour? = Knot furlong

7. 16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone? = 1 Rod Serling

8. Half of a large intestine? = 1 semicolon

9. 1,000,000 aches? = 1 megahurtz

10. Basic unit of laryngitis? = 1 hoarsepower

11. Shortest distance between two jokes? = A straight line

12. 453.6 graham crackers? = 1 pound cake

13. 1 million-million microphones? = 1 megaphone

14. 1 million bicycles? = 2 megacycles.

15. 365.25 days? = 1 unicycle

16. 2000 mockingbirds? = 2 kilomockingbirds

17. 52 cards? = 1 decacards

18. 1 kilogram of falling figs? = 1 Fig Newton

19. 1000 milliliters of wet socks? = 1 literhosen

20. 1 millionth of a fish? = 1 microfiche

21. 1 trillion pins? = 1 terrapin

22. 10 rations? = 1 decoration

23. 100 rations? = 1 C-ration

24. 2 monograms? = 1 diagram

25. 8 nickels? = 2 paradigms

26. 2.4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University
Hospital? = 1 I.V. League 27. 100 Senators? = Not 1 decision

27. a guaca mole = avocado's number

- author unknown

Thoughts There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. - author unknown
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